Volvo, a Trendsetter in Wood Decor

In the past years, Volvo introduced new wood interior decors for its vehcles, such as Nordic Light Oak and Modern Wood, which are getting more and more to the hearts of the customers. The dark, lacquered and treated varieties of wood, for example walnut and mahogany, are a trendsetter for the natural looking interior in the auto industry.

"It's great to see that so many customers are opting for the natural décor trim. People today have a longing for things that are genuine," says Anders Bergström, designer and trim specialist at Volvo Cars. "Wood is an honest material and it generates a feeling of authenticity. It reinforces our image and our Scandinavian design heritage."

The company first introduced a wood decor with a natural finish back in the 1990s, with the Volvo 850 T5-R. "That time we were unfortunately a bit ahead of the times. Not many customers specified that option. A few years later, other car manufacturers offered the same feature when the time was riper," says Lena Jiseborn, design director.

Nowadays, Volvo keeps the interior design to its basics. At the unveiling of the Volvo S60 Concept Car, we could see clearly the influence of the Scandinavian wood and furniture industry, in the upper part of the doors, which are made of genuine light birch wood.

According to the designer specialists, integrating wood decor in cars involves much more work and craftsmanship than working with most other materials.

“We cannot have wood whose grain pattern does not match our design - the interior would end up being too fussy. Compared with the furniture industry, for instance, we work to far higher standards," says Anders Bergström.